Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

On October 27, 2005, a local Post Carbon meet up took place at Coco's restaurant on North Lake Avenue in Pasadena. A major part of the organization's mission is to find ways of surviving oil depletion and other crises (more information is at: lapostcarbon.org and: postcarbon.org). Among the attendees was Tony Kienitz, author of the book The Year I Ate My Yard.

Unlike many of his public appearances, Kienitz this time delved into dark subjects such as global warming, oil depletion, and biotechnology. However, he also described positive actions people can take and offered a lot of advice about gardening and living harmoniously with nature.

Transcript: Tony Kienitz Attends a Post Carbon Meet Up by Rick Panna

PASADENA, December 2, 2011 - Much of the San Gabriel Valley area was hit with a wind storm of unprecedented force Wednesday night. At this time 100,000s of people in the area effected are still without power. Some people are unable to leave their home by car due to fallen trees blocking the street. Wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour brought down trees and cut power lines. Large hundred year old trees have fallen on some homes causing serious structural damage. Many cars parked on the street have also been crushed by fallen trees. No fatalities have been reported.

Report with photos: Massive Wind Storm Hits San Gabriel Valley Area

This morning, October 15, City Council is scheduled to vote on Jan Perry's proposal that would release developer Ralph Horowitz of the 2.6-acre green space requirement and make it easier for him to sell the property. And so the future of the 14-acre plot of land, at 41st and Alameda is once again under dispute. Previously the site of the famous South Central Farm, once known as the largest urban farm in the country, if the not world, the land has become the most disputed plot of real-estate in the city. (At the time of its demolition circa 2006, there was a massive community mobilization to save it, and the goal of the farmers to reclaim the land has not died.)

Are members of the City Council colluding with real estate moguls to illegally make bad real estate deals? The original deal to sell the land back to Horowitz was conducted in a closed-session meeting, a meeting which has recently been deemed illegal by a Superior Court judge, as reported in the LA Times. Not only has Horowitz underpaid for the land, he's now seeking to extract more value from it than agreed before. The City should demand the terms of the original agreement. That was the deal negotiated -- a community benefit of green space, the value of which cannot be measured in simple dollars and cents: our city needs more recreational space, particularly in the east side of South Central Los Angeles.

Full statement: Editorial: Jan Perry's Latest Offensive Against the South Central Farm Land (41st & Alameda) by LA Indymedia Collective

BREAKING: City Council Votes Unanimously Against South Central Farmers | Report Back: City Council Unanimously Supports "Turning Land into Cash" by RP | Video: LA City Council Votes for Warehouse At South Central Farm Site by wsrcreative

Background: (video) Justicia Tierra Y Libertad Large by altla04 | Jan Perry's Attempt to Remove Green Space Requirement Gains Steam | Jan Perry Proposes Waiver of Green Space Requirement for South Central Farm Land by RP

Archival: Never Forever 21: Round 3 | Joan Baez, Julia Butterfly & John Quigley Begin Tree Sit at South Central Farm by Jennifer Morris and Christina Aanestad | Encampment at the Farm -- Day 8 by LA-IMC, A, and Free Radio Santa Cruz | Protests growing at Farm, activists call for more support | BULLDOZER RETURNS TO FARM, Direct Action Disables Bulldozer

Monday, October 24: After 90+ minutes of open discussion, City Council's Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved Councilwoman Jan Perry's proposal, though the announcement was rather low-key. Perry was not present herself but filled the room with residents of the low-income housing project Pueblo Del Rio (who were bused in and treated to a free lunch) and employees of PIMA, the company which hopes to develop the entire property. They wore shirts custom-made for this occasion. The measure will now be reintroduced to the full City Council, probably in mid-November. The South Central Farm is calling on Angelinos to contact their City Council members (contact info. at the bottom of this article).

Perry's proposal was the source of several unflattering remarks about City Council. "[W]e'll have to look into how some council members may be part of the increasingly unpopular 1%," said Bruce Campbell, whose involvement in that land goes back to 1986, when he opposed the Lancer trash incinerator.

"Releasing the owner [of an obligation for] a community soccer field so that he can increase his profit margin in a proposed sale is exactly why there are people occupying cities across the country and right here in front of City Hall," stated Linda Pierre-Avilla, another long-time South Central Farm supporter.

Report and photos: Jan Perry's Attempt to Remove Green Space Requirement Gains Steam by RP | Video: Urban Farming: LA City Council votes on Fate of South Central Farm by wsrcreative

Chevron threatened the City of Fullerton with a lawsuit unless it reconsidered and approved the the same development the City turned down in May 2010. Sadly, the current City Council bought into this threat and agreed to reconsider the same Chevron proposal on July 12, 2011. They then followed up on July 12 with an approval of the same bad development plan that they denied the previous year.

The fight is not over. The Friends of Coyote Hills is taking the vote to the public. We are currently in the qualifying round for our referendum to overturn the City Council's July 12 decision. We are circulating petitions to gather signatures through about mid-August to qualify for a ballot measure.

More information: Fullerton City Council Votes to Develop Coyote Hills by Referendum to Oppose Development